Olive & Beatrix: The Not-So-Itty-Bitty Spiders

Just because you happen to be a good reader doesn't mean you always want to read challenging books.  At our house, there is a variety of reading materials on hand for all of us.  I am just as likely to catch Frances and Gloria poring over a Lego catalog as I am to find them reading Secrets of Walt Disney World.  In fact, both of these events happened in the past week at our house.  Frances and Gloria read the catalog, picking out the sets they each would like.  And each night after they went to bed, I would hear Gloria reading Secrets to Frances at her request.  That's the thing about readers.  Once they get the bug, they read.

What I've also noticed about Frances and Gloria is that they like to read both a large variety of materials, but that what they read is also on a variety of reading levels.  Just because they can read harder books doesn't mean that is the best thing for them every day.  That's why we love the Branches series by Scholastic - there is something satisfying about completing a book in one sitting.  I find that Frances and Gloria still are building their reading stamina, and can get discouraged when they tackle longer books.  They can build fluency in reading, no matter what they read.

I was so lucky to get this new title in the Branches series during the Cybils review process.  I instantly fell in love with Olive and Beatrix, and so did the girls.  I bet you will too!!

Olive and Beatrix are twins.  The story is told from Olive's point of view.  She sounds fairly matter of fact as she notes "Beatrix make look like an ordinary girl, but she's not.  She is a witch." (p. 2).  Olive breezes right on to point out that "I may also look like an ordinary girl.  That's because I am.  I'm not a witch at all." (p. 3)  These twins are not identical, but Olive is okay with that.  Each page of this particular spread has a picture of one of the girls with some important things pointed out.  While Beatrix has a talking pet pig and a "head full of tricks", Olive has pet bugs and a "head full of smarts".  Even from the introduction, you can tell that Olive doesn't feel that Beatrix's talents outpace her own.

By the way, the whole becoming a witch thing?  Olive explains that Beatrix is a witch because she was born precisely at midnight on a full moon.  Needless to say, Olive was not.  But instead of magic spells and tricks, Olive loves science.  She and her best friend Eddie are always working on a project.  While they are experimenting, though, Beatrix is always playing tricks on them and causing their ideas to go haywire.

Olive and Eddie get tired of Beatrix's mischief and decide to play a trick of their own.  They know that Beatrix is afraid of spiders, so they plan to dump a whole pile of them on Beatrix.  And their plan works perfectly!  The problem comes when that gaggle of spiders runs through a growth potion Beatrix had conjured up.  It takes all of them to help contain the not-so-itty-bitty spiders!

As I mentioned before, these twins are very different.  Olive is confident in her science and her brain.  Olive has Eddie, and their friendship seems collaborative and supportive.  Olive operates very differently than Beatrix.  I wouldn't exactly say that Beatrix is the bad guy here, but it's pretty clear that she doesn't have close friends like Eddie.  She has her talking pig, Houston, who comments on the action wryly - when Beatrix is screaming, covered in spiders, Houston calmly steps over to Beatrix's dropped phone and announces to the caller "Miss Beatrix will have to call you back." (p. 14) - but that's all she has.  Beatrix seems bossier, not as friendly.  It takes some effort for her to work with Eddie and Olive to deal with her overgrown spiders.  Even then she peppers her dialogue with insults ("Step aside, dull skulls!" (p. 37))  I will be interested to see how these girls' relationship progresses through the series - will they learn to meet in the middle?  Become friends, even?  We'll have to wait and see.

One of the things I love most about the Branches group of titles is the diversity of text and illustration within each book.  In The Not-So-Itty-Bitty Spiders , there is such a great mix of text and illustration, keeping readers on their toes.  Even though there is only a line or two of actual text on each page, Stadelmann incorporates text throughout the illustrations too.  There is a map to examine, with captions to help the reader get situated.  There is dialogue in many of the pictures too, giving this a graphic novel feel.  Readers are absorbing the plot and characterization without spending a lot of time on the text.  It makes the book feel breezy, not onerous.

And this brings me back to my original thoughts about reading.  Frances and I are reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets out loud.  As we all know about the Harry Potter books, each chapter can take a long time to read.  We read for twenty minutes, and maybe get through five pages.  So it's fun to be able to read something like this, too.  The Branches series also can successfully tempt the reluctant reader with a book that is a chapter book, yet there is a manageable amount of text for them.  The reading level assigned by Scholastic is Grade 2, but I can see the plot appealing to a much wider range of readers.  

I love the illustrations in this book too.  The palette is a little dark and moody - greens, grays, and purples - which keeps it from feeling too girly.  It is attractive to girls, with the twin sister angle, but would also appeal to boys with the magic and science emphasis (and I haven't yet mentioned the cool inventions Olive and Eddie come up with!).  The illustrations have a good deal of humor in them as the three join forces.  Magic and science don't always work well together, and that is evident in their adventures!  Both Beatrix and Olive wear comfortable clothes for what they need to do - tunics, leggings, and no-muss hair styles.  These are can-do girls and they'll take charge!

This is a series that we will definitely be watching.  I can't wait to see what else happens to these twins.  I am so glad it was nominated for a Cybil award so we could read it.

Olive & Beatrix: The Not-So-Itty-Bitty Spiders.  Amy Marie Stadelmann.  Scholastic: Branches, 2015.

sent by the publisher for review as part of the Cybils process.

How Big Were Dinosaurs?

There's been a little bit of a dry spell here at From Tots to Teens.  This fall I served on the Cybils panels for Early Readers and Easy Chapter Books (the eventual winners are listed here ).  While I loved the experience, it took every bit of my reading and writing energy up until the end of December.  Once we made our choices, I was ready to start writing about some of those exciting books, but..we went on vacation, and then got sick, just like everyone else does in January.  The best part of this is that I have a pile of great books to talk about, but that pile only gets higher and higher. At least in February I was able to participate in a couple of terrific blog tours for Catherine's Pascha and Deborah Hopkinson's Beatrix Potter picture book nonfiction.  

So while I read for the Cybils and spent time with the girls, this book has been patiently waiting to be reviewed.  I have loved Lita Judge's books for a few years now.  Red Sled is a book the girls keep going back to, especially on snowy days.  Then I read Bird Talk on a different Cybils panel, and fell in love with Judge's method of combining illustration with fact.  And this winter I was lucky enough to review Judge's newest picture book, Hoot and Peep, for School Library Journal, where it was given a starred review!  So when we found How Big Were Dinosaurs? at our local library, I wanted to call your attention to it.  

How Big Were Dinosaurs? starts out by directly challenging our perceptions of dinosaurs: "When we think of dinosaurs, we think of huge MONSTERS.  But how big were dinosaurs really?"  Instantly, readers picture all of the dinosaurs they've seen in the media.  One of my favorite people to follow on Instagram is @dinosaurwhisperer, where Dustin Growick is always adding dinosaurs into familiar sights.  It's a fun thing to think about - all of us going about our business while dinosaurs tower over us, going about theirs.  As children, we all believe that every dinosaur is fierce, enormous, angry.  Now Judge is about to turn that picture in children's heads upside down.  

Each two page spread introduces a different dinosaur to readers.  There are a couple of well-known dinosaurs, like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, but there are many other dinosaurs represented here.  Judge shows readers the Torosaurus, the Struthiomimus and the Leaellynasaura, among others. The name of the dinosaur is set in a larger, colored font so it is a focus of attention.  What makes Judge's method especially interesting is how well she relates the dinosaurs of millions of years ago to our world today, allowing readers to compare those dinosaurs to something concrete in their own experience.

With the Leaellynasaura (I'm not sure I can say that once, much less three times fast!), there is first an acknowledgement of the dinosaur's odd name - "You'd think these dinosaurs were tree-eating giants."  Their name may be confusing and complicated for readers, but the facts are a little more straight-forward.  They lived in the South Pole and were only two feet tall, directly in contrast to their gigantic sounding name.  The illustrations on this spread show the dinosaurs nestled into a group of emperor penguins.  Judge incorporates humor so well into the illustrations.  All four Leaellynasaurus peer worriedly around the penguins.  Meanwhile the colony of penguins all rest contentedly with their eyes closed, totally unconcerned about the dinosaurs.

The Stegosaurus is one of the dinosaurs that will be very familiar to readers.  On this two page spread, the Stegosaurus takes up one entire page, dwarfing three bewildered cows on the other side.  The text notes that while "Stegosaurus weighed as much as three cows... he looked much bigger."  And this important fact: "Bigger isn't always smarter - this giant plant-eater only had a brain the size of a walnut."

How Big Were Dinosaurs? is one of those books that I am amazed by.  Everything on the page is meaningful and it is all designed to be relatable to the reader.  When you turn each page, you are given instant information about the featured dinosaur.  So even if you were just browsing the book, you'd see the dinosaur's name in that larger, bolder font, and then get some idea of their relative size through her illustrations.  And Judge's style serves to draw the reader back to the text.  On the spread for the Tsintaosaurus, for example, when just glancing at the illustration, the reader might think that the woman is trying to save her life by swatting at the dinosaur with an ineffectual broom. The Tsintaosaurus looms over the woman as she waves the broom threateningly.  Only through reading the text do you learn that the woman is actually trying to protect her garden from the plant-eating dinosaur.  Still, it seems to be that the broom might not be much help!

The Tyrannosaurus Rex  is another great example of this integration of text and illustration.  The illustration is of the dinosaur, laying back in a dental chair, getting his teeth cleaned.  His tiny arms flail helplessly by his sides while the hygienist brushes away.  Honestly, he looks as grumpy as we all feel at the dentist!  But while he looks harmless and humorous in the picture, the text tells us that his jaw muscles "could crunch down with ten times the force of a alligator bite."  Yikes!

Of course, the back matter in this book just add to the interplay between text and illustration.  On one spread there is informational text explaining how scientists know (or hypothesize) how big dinosaurs were by using the fossilized skeletons to estimate.  While this information isn't anything new, Judge puts her own spin on it, consistent with what's been shown in the rest of the book.  Then there is a terrific fold-out spread which compares the sizes of each of the dinosaurs mentioned in the book.  Argentinosaurus, of course, is the longest and largest and takes up most of the real estate of the four pages.  But Judge also sprinkles some of the modern references in the spread too for size comparison.  There are the cows and emperor penguins I previously mentioned along with people and cars.  This spread really made me fall in love with this book the first time I read it.  It is clever and creative and again gives young readers something to pore over and internalize.  It's really great!

I obviously can't say enough about this smart book.  I really feel that it does an amazing job bringing dinosaurs to life without sensationalizing them.  Check this book out - it just might make a dinosaur lover out of you!

How Big Were Dinosaurs? Lita Judge.  Roaring Brook Press, 2013.

 borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library 

Beatrix Potter & the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig

Beatrix Potter really needs no introduction to readers.  Many, many children have read The Tale of Peter Rabbit or any of her other stories.  At this point in Potter's popularity, you can decorate a nursery with bedding and toys based on Potter's illustrations.  You can mention Mr. McGregor in casual conversation, and your listener will know about what that farmer did to Peter Rabbit.  Beatrix Potter crafted these whimsical little books with care and love, and that still shows through today.

Frances and Gloria both went through periods where they wanted to read tons of Beatrix Potter stories.  Surprisingly, we do not own any of the stories, but our library has a special boxed set.  We would check out one or two each visit.  Their tiny size, the charming illustrations and the stories contained within really captivated the girls.  So those memories of time spent with Potter's tales made the girls want to read Deborah Hopkinson's story about Beatrix Potter's childhood.

The story begins with a note written directly to the reader.  It helps set the stage for the story, but telling readers that Beatrix is a young girl at this point, and that her story might keep children from wanting to lend out their pets.  It's definitely an intriguing tactic.  Then Hopkinson goes on to explain that Beatrix (and her younger brother, Bertram) have a wonderful space for themselves in their house, which includes room for their art, their science experiments, and lots of pets.  Beatrix loved animals, and had a collection of them.  At various times there was a frog, a canary, a snake, a turtle, and many, many others.  It seems like a lot of pets, but it wasn't quite enough.  Because Beatrix liked to draw and paint these animals, and "she liked to paint them doing ordinary, everyday things, like reading the newspaper, working in the garden, or taking tea. (And why not?)"  And the problem then is that she wants to paint a picture of a guinea pig.  Of course, guinea pig was not one of the pets I listed above.  So Beatrix has to borrow one.

Beatrix borrows her neighbor's guinea pig, with extravagant promises to bring that guinea pig (whose name is Queen Elizabeth) back in the morning, after the posing is complete.  As Hopkinson comments "The sitting began quite auspiciously.".  Beatrix begins to do her drawing, but is called away to attend a dinner party.  She doesn't put Queen Elizabeth safely away, because she doesn't think she'll be gone long.  But in the time Beatrix is gone, Queen Elizabeth helps herself to paper, string, and paste - all of which are not good for a guinea pig.  When Beatrix returns and sees the mess Queen Elizabeth has made, she doesn't think twice about it.  Instead, she puts Queen Elizabeth back in her cage for the night.  When Beatrix wakes up in the morning, Hopkinson addresses the reader directly again, and points out that the paper, string, and paste are not good for Queen Elizabeth.  That guinea pig is no longer alive.

Beatrix feels terrible that Queen Elizabeth has died, and when she goes to apologize to her neighbor, she brings a painting of the guinea pig that she completed.  Even though the neighbor is so angry, she ends up keeping the painting.  All those years later, that illustration ended up being worth quite a lot of money after Beatrix Potter became famous.  Did it make up for the loss of the guinea pig after all?

First of all, I found the combination of author and illustrator in this book absolutely charming.  Charlotte Voake's illustrations are delicate and sweet, so they echo Potter's very nicely.  But they also have an added touch of modern sensibility and personality.  It is the same with Hopkinson's text.  It mimics Potter's tone, but it has that wink at the reader.  Hopkinson's voice pokes a little bit of fun at the situation.  Even when there is tragedy, such as the guinea pig dying, there is still a moment of brevity.  The format of the book also resembles the small white books that Beatrix Potter and her publisher created.  There are some clever design choices made here.

There are some other good choices made here - the choice to focus on Potter's childhood helps keep someone who is famous relatable to children.  Beatrix seems just like most other children, with their love of pets and wild animals.  There is a lesson told here, about taking care of the animals that you are responsible for, but it doesn't hit readers over the head.  Instead they will be taken by the combination of humor and creativity that are described in these pages.  Hopkinson also has included pages from Potter's own journal to illuminate the predicaments she allowed her pets to get into.  It helps attract a wide range of readers to the story as well.  

Finally, as always, there is some fantastic back matter.  There is a P.S. which gives more information about Beatrix Potter and the story.  Hopkinson also lists some websites where readers can find more pictures of the guinea pig drawing and other Potter artifacts.  Finally, Hopkinson gives notes on this particular story, mentioning what has been taken from other sources and what has been invented.  I think this is an important distinction, particularly in a picture book format.  It helps students who might be using this as a source be able to figure out what is true and what isn't.

I was so lucky to be offered a chance to review this picture book as part of Deborah Hopkinson's blog tour.  I have enjoyed this book very much, and I hope you'll pick it up and learn something new about Beatrix Potter.  We certainly did.

Beatrix Potter & the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig.  Deborah Hopkinson and Charlotte Voake.  Schwartz & wade Books. 2016.

Thanks again to Deborah Hopkinson for appearing.  For other stops on the Beatrix Blog Tour please check deborahhopkinson.com.

Catherine's Pascha

This fall, I was very busy reading for the Cybils panel on Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books (if you are interested in the outcomes, our recommended finalists are here and the 2015 winners will be announced tomorrow, February 14th!).  It was a stimulating, exciting experience.  I was lucky enough to be on the panel with Mia Wenjen, one of the founders of Multicultural Children's Book Day.  She connected me to the effort, and I was soon matched with a book.  I couldn't believe my luck to be matched with Catherine's Pascha!

You see, first of all, the name Catherine (spelled in just this way), has a great deal of personal significance for my family.  It was thrilling to see the name front and center in the title, and this coincidence definitely made Frances and Gloria eager to pick it up.  And my favorite holiday has always been Easter.  This is a holiday that again has great personal significance, and my middle name happens to be Easterling!  There are many special Easter traditions in my family, and I've created new traditions around this day for Frances and Gloria.  It was fascinating to see how Pascha is celebrated in the Orthodox churches.

Catherine knows that she will be up late on Holy Saturday, since they will be attending church very late at night.  Her younger brother, Peter, is way too sleepy to participate in the church service, so they bring along blankets and pillows to keep him comfortable.  They also bring the Pascha baskets to share with their church community after the service.  The baskets contain sandwiches and sweet rolls shaped like rabbits.

As the liturgy begins, Catherine notes the difference between the service she attended last year at her Grandma's church and this one.  But as she's thinking about what she likes best, Father Nicholas begins this year's Pascha service.  It begins with one of Catherine's favorite traditions - the lighting of the candles.  As she looks around, she notices that "the church is full of light".  Catherine's best friend, Elizabeth, is next to Catherine, and as their candles waver, they use the other's candle as support - they are sharing each other's light in the darkness of the church courtyard.

The group gathered together in the courtyard next processes in behind the priest.  The mass begins, with its celebration of the King of Glory.  Elizabeth and Catherine sit together during Mass.  At first the girls entertain themselves by playing with their candles, but Catherine's mom gets wise to their antics and quickly snuffs their light.  While Catherine pouts for a moment, she is soon distracted by the pageantry of the service.  Bells chime as the priest walks around the church, censing (distributing the smoke from burning incense around the church while saying blessings).

The Mass continues, but the girls (who are up way past their bedtimes) start to doze off.  They do rouse for Communion, and look forward to the feast that will conclude the night.  It truly is a celebration - Catherine's father even tells her that she doesn't have to choose any vegetables at the feast table!  So Elizabeth and Catherine load up their plates with all the sweets and snacks they can.  But all too soon the night is over and their families are ready to head home.  Catherine's brother, Peter, has slept soundly through both the service and the feast (missing the hot dog he had been looking forward to).  As the story ends, Catherine and her family drive home.  They are filled with joy, community, and good food.  Catherine dozes off again on the ride home, content.  As the sun comes up, though, Peter wakes, surprised and disappointed to have missed the whole celebration.

This is the plot of the story, but there are multiple layers to this book.  Most two page spreads have two sets of illustrations.  The larger background illustration showcases one of many Orthodox churches around the world.  Each of these larger illustrations includes a caption labeling the church in multiple languages.  It also gives the geographic location and the date the church was founded.  What I love about these larger illustrations is that they set this particular story in the larger Orthodox community.  People around the world are all celebrating Pascha together as one church.  I really enjoyed this idea of setting Catherine's story into context.

There is another, smaller illustration in the center of each two page spread.  This illustration goes along with the plot of the book.  Again, because this plot illustration is layered on top of the Orthodox churches of the world, the story of Catherine celebrating Pascha also feels centered in the global community.  This smaller illustration is set off by a frame which has additional text parading around the picture.  In the textual frame Riggle adds quotes from the liturgy, the story, or from the Bible.

What is interesting about the layout of this book is that there is a lot of information being given to the reader on each page, but the amount doesn't feel overwhelming.  The layout is thoughtfully done so that the book stands up to sustained reading.  Children can read straight through just paying attention to the main text.  But the additional text (the captions and frames) supplements the story so well and gives added insight into Catherine's participation in the Orthodox church.

Finally, there is terrific, helpful back matter.  There is a glossary with the Paschal greetings in all the languages of the Orthodox church.  There are also definitions for other unfamiliar terms.    On the last page there is a list of Frequently Asked Questions to help readers continue to learn.  These questions are carefully chosen to help illuminate some of the dialogue in the story.  This is another way Riggle has chosen to convey meaning to readers without making the reading experience too overwhelming.  It works very well.

I found this book so informative and really fascinating.  It is a great addition to any collection, and will be added to our Easter collection at home.  We love both Catherine's name and the holiday!

Catherine's Pascha: A Celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church.  Written by Charlotte Riggle; illustrated by R.J. Hughes.  Phoenix Flair Press, 2015.

sent by the author in celebration of MultiCultural Book Day

8:An Animal Alphabet

Now that Frances and Gloria are fairly fluent readers, we tend to use our reading time differently than we have in the past.  We are still reading tons of picture books together, but we do much more "participatory" reading than we ever have before.  Both girls are good readers, but I selfishly still want to read to them to h.  One of the things I'm seeing about both girls these days is that they don't have the reading stamina to tackle the longer books they want to read.  Frances particularly tries lots of books without success because she wants to read that book, but can't get through the longer chapters.  We tackle this with a number of strategies.  Frances and Gloria often take turns reading the dialogue in picture books.  If I am reading with just one of them, we often alternate pages so they can build up confidence on longer picture books and nonfiction.  I encourage Frances and Gloria to check out as many books as possible, even if they don't finish them (I've learned to ignore comments from the circulation clerks at the public library!).  This ends up being a combination of picture books, nonfiction, longer and shorter chapter books and graphic novels.  I've found that having a big pile of books means they 'll often find something they are eager to stick with.  And I reserve lots of books for us to explore together.  The more engaged they are with a book, the more likely they are to take it to bed with them that night, reading it over and over.  We pay lots of overdue fines, but it's worth it!

This is what happened when I brought home 8: An Animal Alphabet.  Cooper has created a deceptively simple plot in 8.  The book starts with an informational page, which is crucial in such a stark book as this.  He explains that on each page there will be eight of one particular animal.  Cooper footnotes the reasons why there are eight: "Because 8 is great.  Because 8 is round and adorable....Because 8 is my favorite number."  This explanatory page also references the back matter, which I love.  He tells you right up front that there is a section called "Did You Know?' to help identify animals.  I'll talk more about the back matter later, but I wanted to mention that Cooper points a reader's attention to the back matter right away.  I find it discouraging when you spend time struggling through a piece of nonfiction, only to discover once I've finished it that there was something in the back (most times a map) that would have helped me.  Maybe that's my own shortcoming as a reader, but I like to be reminded up front that there is information that I might need.

And I was surprised at how often we referred to the "Did You Know?" section as we read 8:An Animal Alphabet.  This book is a unique combination of concepts - it is definitely an alphabet book (it's in the name, after all!), but it's also a counting book.  Each page includes a large set of capital and lowercase letters in an easy to read font (Century Gothic for those of you who are curious).  Along the bottom of each page is a list of the animals which are included on that page, in alphabetical order.  As I mentioned earlier, there are eight of one particular animal on each page.  But the eight don't all look identical .  The newts, for instance, range in color, size, thickness and stripes or polka dots.  So it can be challenging to find the complete pack. On the panda page, children have to decide whether to count the mother-baby pair as one or two pandas.  It requires a little bit of analysis from the reader.

We used the book mostly as a seek and find type of book - racing to see who could find the tick or tarantula first.  And there were times that we needed the "Did You Know?' section for reference.  Cooper is careful to use a diverse mix of creatures, and I wasn't clear on the difference between an ibex and an impala, or whether an upupa  was a bird or a mammal.  When we consulted the "Did You Know?" section , there was one fact about every animal, again in alphabetical order.  There is also a thumbnail recreation of Cooper's illustrations so readers can match the animal with the larger page.  It was very useful, and even I learned facts such as that snails are more active at night or that rats can tread water for three days (shudder!).

Elisha Cooper, whose book Homer I featured here, has an illustration style that is well suited to an alphabet of animals.  He has a detailed, realistic style so it's clear what the specified animal really looks like.  All of the pages have a white background, and the animals stand out in crisp relief.  While there can be up to twenty animals on the page, they aren't interacting with each other either.  They are scattered around each page, but with the white space and lack of interaction, there is also a museum feeling about each page.

That museum quality to this book is also what gives it appeal to a wide audience.  This isn't a cutesy, themed concept book.  8: An Animal Alphabet  doesn't even have any text other than the listing of animal names.  It feels elegant and will be attractive to a wide range of readers.  It will be a great book for kids who know about animals and want to learn more.  And of course, I have to mention that I love it because Cooper included my favorite bird in this alphabet of animals - the kakapo!

8:An Animal Alphabet.  Elisha Cooper.  Orchard Books, 2015.

borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library

Yard Sale

I have made my fair share of moves in my life.  While I lived in the same house for more than 15 years while growing up (all of my childhood memories involve that house), I have spent the rest of my life changing houses every two or three years.  Sometimes it's been just moving across town, sometimes it's been moving across the country.  And if I've spent most of my adult life moving, Frances and Gloria have made many moves as well.  In Gloria's seven years, she has lived in five places!  And while the circumstances that we moved in haven't always been the happiest, the girls have always learned to love something about each new place - our neighbors, our backyard, the neighborhood playground.

In Yard Sale, Callie's family is moving.  They are moving from a house on a cul-de-sac to an apartment with a Murphy bed.  It's a big change, and because they are moving to a much smaller place, they won't need all of the furniture they currently have.  So Callie's parents host a yard sale.  On the very first page, Callie states "Almost everything we own is spread out in our front yard.  It's all for sale."  You can immediately see how Callie feels about the move.  She sits on their front steps, chin in her hands, totally dejected.  Her life is changing and it's clear she is not comfortable with what is about to happen.  The family goes to look at the new apartment, and Callie says "'It's all nice.'...But it didn't feel like ours."

On the day of the sale, Callie feels even more uncertain.  She sees a woman haggle over her headboard because there are crayon marks on it.  She cries when a man buys her bike, even though her dad reminds her that they don't have room to ride the bike outside the apartment.  Callie tries to participate in the sale cheerfully, but she thinks "I hate people buying our stuff.  It's not fair."  She doesn't want to move, but knows she has to.  She doesn't have any choice in the matter.

And her parents feel the same way.  One of the most beautiful and poignant things about this book and the collaboration between Bunting and Castillo is how easily you can surmise how torn the parents feel about this move too.  The parents' emotions aren't the focus of this story, Callie's emotions are.  But their complicated feelings are so crucial to how Callie deals with the move.  They are trying to make the best of a bad situation by pointing out the cool Murphy bed in the new apartment, even if Callie doesn't accept their overtures.  As the sale winds down, exhaustion takes over her parents.  "Anything that's left my dad is selling cheap.  He and my mom look droopy.  My dad is rubbing my mom's back."  In the picture, they look like they are holding each other up at this point in the day - sad, tired and uncertain.

Then something happens that shifts everyone's attention.  A woman comes up to Callie, who is slumped over, waiting to be done with the day.  "'Aren't you just the cutest thing?' she says, smiling.  'Are you for sale?''  While I'm sure the woman meant it in a friendly or funny way, it was the exact wrong thing to say to a little girl who already knows that this move has to do with money, and the her family is downsizing.  Will they get rid of her, too?  Callie has a moment of sheer panic, and "A shiver runs through me, from my toes to my head."  She is a little hysterical as she goes to her dad, who reassures her that he won't sell her, "'Not for a million, trillion dollars.'"  The illustration here focuses on Callie wrapped tightly in both parents' arms.  All of the busy movement around them at the sale falls away as they take comfort in each other, and feel each other's sadness.

The story ends with Callie's acceptance of the move, now that she has been reassured.  She notes "...it's OK because we don't really need anything we've sold.  And those things wouldn't fit in our new place anyway."  Perhaps the biggest reason that Callie is becoming more accepting of the move is due to what she realizes on the very last page.  "But we will fit in our new place.  And we are taking us."  She has a newfound knowledge that their family won't change, and that is the most important part.

This change is hard on Callie in a number of ways.  One of those ways is that she feels like she is losing many of the things that are her history.  For instance, the woman who haggles over the headboard with the crayon marks doesn't have any idea that those marks were how Callie counted the number of times she read Goodnight Moon.  And it is clear to Callie that the woman doesn't appreciate her crayon marks at all, that Callie's history actually devalues the headboard.  She decides to give her best friend her heart necklace because Callie knows that her friend Sara will appreciate the necklace.

There is a delicate interplay between adults and child in Yard Sale.  As I've mentioned before, her parents' attempt to make the best of a trying time leads to Callie's conflicted emotions.  They are trying their best to keep everything positive, but their body language tells another story.  Once they all admit their mixed emotions, the little family can move on, together.

This was the story that started off my Lauren Castillo-fest this fall.  I read a blog post that mentioned Yard Sale and I then proceeded to check out as many of the books that she had written and illustrated as I could.  That's why I also reviewed What Happens on Wednesday in September.  I love Castillo's illustrations overall - I love the families she depicts.  They are real - sometimes frumpy, sometimes sad, but not afraid to show their imperfections.  It makes me feel like I can relate to these families, whether or not my family resembles the one on the page.  They are real.  The colors she uses here are soft (but not necessarily pastels) and lend tenderness to the book.

Yard Sale is one of those moments that many children will feel strongly about.  They may have moved, they may have had a yard sale to get rid of excess stuff.  Frances and Gloria have done both, and could relate to how Callie felt.  Children may also remember a time when things in their own family were not so certain.  Whatever the situation, Yard Sale is a book that celebrates the staying power of family.

Yard Sale.  Eve Bunting; illustrated by Lauren Castillo. Candlewick Press, 2015.

borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Wrap-Up

So even though it is Monday, and the 24 Hour Readathon technically ended more than 24 hours ago, I'll do a quick wrap-up post in case you're interested in how the rest of my reading day went. 

When last I left you, I was on my way to the library to pick up holds and drop off overdue books.  There were a lot of both:

 These are all my holds, right after I returned from the library.  Then the girls' dad let me know it was time to pick up Frances and Gloria.   Then Albert and his dad came over.   And essentially the day got away from me.  I had read about 6.5 hours before the library visit.  I only read about another 1.5 hours that night before bed, so in essence I got about 8 hours of reading in during the 24 hour period. 

At first, I was really disappointed by the amount of reading I got done - only 8 hours!  I was comparing it to the 24 hour total, and thinking I had only read a third of the time. But then I realized I was thinking about this all wrong - I got in 8 hours of reading in one day!  That's pretty amazing for me.  And my reading got me past two books during the readathon (I also read about 150 pages of Furiously Happy) that I had been trying to finish all week.  It was a big deal to have moved past them.

Another thing that was fun about this particular Readathon is that many of my friends and family on Facebook read along with me, or shared what they had read, even if it was only for a few minutes.  It was a great way to acknowledge the community of reading.  And a lot of fun to encourage each other. 

So all in all, I will try to do the Readathon again, as often as I can.  While I didn't finish my TBR pile, who does??  It was still a worthwhile investment of my time and energy!

Perfect Fifths - Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

So here I am, about two hours later, and I've finished another book from my To Be Read pile. 

This is my second time reading through the Jessica Darling series, which ends with Perfect Fifths.  While I wasn't totally satisfied with the story - much of it recreates Jessica and Marcus' first conversation after breaking up three years before - I was ultimately satisfied with this book as an ending to the series.  And now that I am thinking about it, maybe it was an accurate recreation of that first awkward conversation - where you don't want to say too much, but are trying to summarize what's gone on in your life while the other person has been absent.

Now that I've finished two books from my To Be Read pile, I am wondering if I'll be able to read beyond what I had originally planned.  I still feel pretty fresh, and am loving the feeling of checking books off my list.  We'll see how the rest of the day goes.  The girls will be home at some point this afternoon, but will be pretty worn out, so they may be willing to lay low tonight and watch a movie. 

Now off to the library to pick up some holds and return these overdue books!

The Magician's Land : Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

Well, I think I am in hour four (?), five (?) - it is getting a little blurry - of the readathon, and I just finished The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman. 

I am not going to do much review of this book - mostly because it is the third in a series, and it would give too much away to say much.  But first I will say that this series is for adults, and has some really interesting concepts and feelings in it.  I actually wished that I had reread the other two books in the series (The Magicians and The Magician King) because it had been a few years since I read them.  This book definitely needs the other two books with all of their history, which I loved!  It was 400 pages long, and I had read about 100 pages before I started today.  I think this is the longest book I will attempt today (although A Court of Thorns and Roses is pretty long too), and it feels great to have finished it.

So far in the readathon, I've been taking a break after 45 minutes of reading to get up and do something else - eat, take a shower, etc.  It's helped me stay focused on my reading the rest of the time (another good tip from the guest posters at Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon.  I know there is no way I'll make 24 hours of reading, but I feel pretty good so far. 

On the snack front, I ate toast for breakfast early this morning, and then had the last of the smores cupcakes (recipe here).  Those cupcakes are so delicious I can hardly stand it!  Right now I am making Chex mix and it's almost done, but that is really for the girls - just doing it while I had time.

Back to the reading - going to read Perfect Fifths now and then make a library trip when I'm finished.  See you soon!

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon!

I am just getting ready to start Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon!  I participated in this last spring, without being super official about it, and the fall one turned out to be on a day that I could read a lot of the day (at least that's what I hope!).  Today is Gloria's 7th birthday, but the girls are celebrating with their dad today, so I should have a chunk of time to read.

For those of you who are new to the blog, and visiting from the readathon, here's a brief introductory meme - I am reading in Helena, Montana, where the weather is supposed to be in the low 70's!  It's going to make it hard to keep reading, but we'll see how I do!  Here's my To Be Read pile:

I'm planning to read the following books - The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas, All Hail the Queen (Anna and Elsa), Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty, and Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson.  I'm also hoping to write a blog post about Yard Sale today and make a trip to the library at some point to pick up some holds!

A few words about my To Be Read pile - you can see from the picture that most of these are library books... my library pile has been getting a little out of hand in the past couple of weeks, and I need to return some of these that are overdue.  So I am concentrating on the library piles today!

But as you may also know, I am on the panel for the Easy Reader/Early Chapter Books Cybils award, so I will be trying to do some reading for that too, which is why the Anna & Elsa book is there.  Most of my reading for the panel involves the girls, but we've had a hard time getting into this one, so I'll read it today and go back to it later with them if I think it's worth it!

The Dewey blog had some great posts in the lead-up to this readathon, and one of them recommended getting all of your cleaning done ahead of time so it wouldn't distract you.  I spent last night cleaning and getting groceries, so I am ready to start!  Actually, I got most of the cleaning done, and may vacuum as a break later.  I'm hoping to read about 12 hours today - again, depending on when Frances and Gloria come home, and how the day goes.  But I am kicking it off early this morning.  I'll report back throughout the day.

Thank you for reading with me!!

What Happens on Wednesday

As a single mother to Frances and Gloria, I have very specific routines.  None of us do well when we are not on a routine.  The girls feel secure knowing what will happen next, what will happen tonight or tomorrow.  Those routines keep us organized, keep us going, but can also frankly be exhausting.  Sometimes we trudge through the routine only because we are used to its predictability.  On the blog Mommy Shorts, Ilana has created a series called Wednesday Evenings in partnership with Allstate, and I love seeing it.  She chose all kinds of families, and sent a photographer to document their routines (there was also a series documenting family mornings too).  I find it so soothing to read this series - we are all in the same boat, where we do homework, eat dinner, read and give baths, no matter where we live or what we look like.

What Happens on Wednesdays is all about family routine.  The preschool girl who narrates the story begins with this line: "What happens on Wednesdays is I wake up when it is still dark out."  The mother in me groans at that idea, but there is the little girl, being swung out of her bed by her mother.  The other thing I love about this first page?  When the mom tries to kiss her daughter and is informed "...today is not a kissing day."  And with that statement, they are off.  The little girl revels in the structure - "Then she drinks her coffee and I drink my milk and maybe we have some strawberries while we read stories on the couch."  Even though this book shows one particular Wednesday, you get the feeling that for this little girl Wednesdays are blissfully similar.

After they wake up her dad, he takes his daughter out to the park to play before school.  Her mom has already gone to work on her computer in the back room of their apartment.  Another very developmentally appropriate thing about the narrator is her love of detail.  They don't just head off to school, they "walk past the store with the toy mouse you can ride for a quarter."  If you know any preschoolers, you are familiar with how long it takes them to recount something that has happened to them.  It is never straightforward and simple, the way busy adults prefer.  Instead their stories are embellished with all the details that they have noticed, all the details that are important to them.  And the details the little girl reports give color to her world.  When she and her mom stop at the library that evening, after swimming, she notes that it "has a stuffed duckling that's big enough to ride on.  There are shelves of scary grownup stories that spin around if you push them."  These are the details that make up our lives and that Jenkins celebrates here.

The day has many components to it - the morning routine, the school day, the afternoon (books, nap, swimming), and evening.  Sometimes the little girl notes where things are the same as every other day of the week - she lists out the school day schedule and then comments "Which  is the same on Wednesdays as any other day."  Or sometimes she explains what's different about Wednesdays: "What happens on Wednesdays is Daddy comes home early."  The routine is predictable but still has some flexibility in it.  "I put Band-Aids on Looga, my stuffed elephant or I make a puppet show, or I build a swimming pool of blocks, or I go through the laundry and try on grown-up clothes.  It is different every Wednesday." The other thing this daily routine helps the little girl manage is what is expected of her.  She knows that in the above quote, she is playing by herself while her mother cooks her dinner.  She must come up with a way to keep herself occupied until dinner is ready.

I noticed too that the parents are depicted having a very easy teamwork.  They often tag team in caring for their daughter.  I'm sure the handoff isn't always as seamless as it seems here, but while her mom gets up with her, her dad does school drop-off.  Her mom spends the afternoon with her and then her dad puts her in the bath after dinner.  "And what happens on Wednesdays is I can pick who puts me to bed.  So I pick Daddy."  The routine is very tied to her parents.  The book has a cozy feeling of family love in it - they are focused on their little girl's needs, but there are still other things going on.  They make dinner, return library books, empty the dishwasher - all those "other" tasks that need to be completed.

Lauren Castillo's illustrations for this story suit it perfectly.  Readers can look at any page and know exactly what's going on, even if their family doesn't look the same.  The routines depicted here are universal and comforting.  And the illustrations are packed full of the details the narrator finds so important.  There is the mom getting her daughter out of bed, still in her own pajamas.  Once the little girl pulls her dad out of bed, they go down to pick up the newspaper.  The dad is sporting mismatched pajamas and slippers as they head back up.   While the mom gets dressed and tidies up, the dad stays rumpled and unshaven all day (although he does change out of his pajamas!).  The illustrations work perfectly with the text to create that feeling of real, authentic family life.

While Wednesday isn't a special day - not a holiday or a day to be celebrated - it is a day full of love.  It is every day and yet it's a day that will be documented and remembered thanks to this lovely story.  I love the celebration of family life - it was comforting to the girls and to me as a parent.  It's a great choice for a Wednesday night or any other night for that matter.

What Happens on Wednesdays. Emily Jenkins; pictures by Lauren Castillo.  Frances Foster Books: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.

borrowed from Lewis & Clark Library

Alphabet Trains

When I worked as a librarian, one of the most frequent requests was for books about vehicles.  Boys, girls, parents, teachers - they all asked for books about things that go.  As far as we were concerned, there were never enough books to satisfy the need.  And now that I have a little boy (who we call Albert here) in my life, I know that still holds true.  On every trip to the library, we are always scanning the shelves for more books about his biggest loves - vehicles.  This is why one of his favorite books currently is Mighty Dads.  And Albert wants both story and information at the same time, so he can learn more facts while we read.  There are very few books which combine story and fact to his liking,  I am so lucky to count the author of Alphabet Trains as a friend, and even luckier that she created this second book in the series (I reviewed Alphabet Trucks here, another Albert fave.).

Alphabet Trains follows the same general pattern as Alphabet Trucks did.  There is an introductory verse on the first page.  It serves to set up excitement for readers.  They are invited on this train trip.  As the train in the illustration pulls away, a crowd surrounds the train, waving joyfully.  I'll take a quick moment here to note that unlike most of my reviews, where I write about text and illustrations separately, with Alphabet Trains I'll mostly talk about both pieces together.  That is because text and illustration complement each other so seamlessly here.  I am really not sure I could talk about each individually!  So as the train leaves, and everyone waves, we see that the first car of the train is filled with letters,  Here is our first glimpse of the alphabet train.

Each subsequent page includes two rhyming lines about a type of train along with an accompanying illustration.  As he did in Alphabet Trucks, O'Rourke adds the featured letter into its illustration with ingenuity.  In the letter A (for Auto train), the giant racks where passengers load their cars are A's themselves.  On the Pacific Surfliner page, each of the waiting passengers sport a P on their t-shirts.  The text for the letter U is "U is for unit train - one freight to one location.".  And, indeed, the picture shows that the freight on this particular train is all capital U's in a row.  Clever!

It really does seem like a daunting task to come up with twenty-six different types of trains, but Vamos completes the task with grace.  And these trains aren't all passenger trains either.  There isn't an Amtrak or the B&O Railroad, familiar to us from the Monopoly game, listed here.  Instead, types span from the Q subway train (familiar to me from my review of Lost in NYC) to the Hurricane Train in Alaska.  There are bullet trains, top-and-tail trains, and dinky trains.  For young train enthusiasts, this book is a winner - it gives them twenty-six new trains to learn about as well as a catchy way to categorize them all.

There are a couple of new additions to the series in Alphabet Trains that I wanted to mention here.  Alphabet Trains includes international trains as well, which is a great choice.  Trains are trains the world around, but it is how those trains are used in various countries that is so interesting.  For example, the Victoria Express - it travels between Hanoi and Lao Cai, and includes air-conditioned sleeping cars.  These are so necessary in a tropical environment!  There's also the Leonardo Express, in Rome.  It simply moves passengers from the airport to the Central train station, but does it efficiently in thirty minutes.  And finally the Glacier Express (which I have to admit, I believed was here in Montana, in Glacier National Park).  It's actually in Switzerland, and moves at a glacial speed, taking advantage of all the incredible scenery.  Including trains from around the world helps keep the audience for Alphabet Trains entranced.

And I wouldn't know all these facts about these trains if it wasn't for an addition to the book that I love most of all - back matter.  There are two pages packed with facts about each of the trains at the end of the book.  These facts are so useful.  With only two lines of text per train, there isn't much room to identify the train.  The back matter will also appeal to those train enthusiasts who want to know more.  Again, when Albert and I read Alphabet Trains together, it helped us learn more information.  There is no way I would have known all the facts he wanted without those pages.  On the Hurricane train in Alaska, riders must wave a flag to get the train to stop for them.  And they also have to inform the conductor what milepost they want to get off at.  They are equal participants in their train trip!

With so many great changes, though, I am happy to report that some of the things I loved best about Alphabet Trucks is still alive and well in Alphabet Trains.  I've already mentioned how well integrated the text and illustrations are in this title.  But I'd also like to point out what a strong literacy impact these books have.  I mentioned that O'Rourke incorporates the featured letter wherever he can.  But he also uses the letters in different typefaces, both print and cursive, and in capital and small letters.  It is fun to stop and admire each page, noting all the ways that letter has been used or displayed while still depicting the train accurately.

I cannot say enough how great I think these books are.  And while I've focused mostly on younger reader here, this title could be used as an informational book up to fifth grade.  IT can help springboard students into additional reading.  We love Alphabet Trains!  I've heard a rumor that there may be a third book in the alphabet vehicle series... we'll be first in line!

Alphabet Trains.  Samantha R. Vamos; illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke.  Charlesbridge, 2015.

sent by the publisher for review

The Woods

One of my favorite ways to learn about books is by reading about the titles other bloggers read and recommend.  We don't always agree, but quite often they have read books I have never heard about.  I've also never met a list of books that I didn't immediately want to check titles off!!  So I was in seventh heaven when Janssen published her summer reading list "100 picture books to read this summer".   I "met" Janssen when we served on a Cybils panel a few years ago (Side note: I am so excited to be a judge for Round One of the Easy Readers/Early Chapter Books judging this year!!), and I know that she has amazing taste in books.  So I printed out her list of recommendations and got to work.  Because these weren't the only books we read this summer, it took us all summer to get through the list.  But we loved it - reading old favorites and new titles.  And one of the new-to-us books that I loved enough to write about was The Woods.

It begins with a little boy going through his bedtime routine.  He's in bed, under his covers, finished with his story, when he realizes his bunny rabbit is missing.  The boy knows there is only one place his stuffed rabbit could be.  He gathers some supplies, including a sword, and heads off into the woods.  He announces that he isn't afraid at all.  Until...he runs into a BIG, SCARY BROWN BEAR!  Luckily, the little boy is brave enough to determine that the bear is afraid of the dark.  And the little boy can also solve the bear's problem by providing a night-light.  Because he has been kind to the bear, the bear wants to join in and help the little boy find his rabbit.
 
So with the bear tagging along behind, the boy proceeds through the woods.  They continue their search through the murky, dark woods, finding two scary giants and a three-headed, fire-breathing dragon.  Each time the little boy confronts something new, he doesn't get scared, but makes the effort to find out what they need (that frightening dragon is actually bawling because he has a stomachache!).  When he helps them out, they all agree to help him to find his rabbit in return.  But when the group approaches a dark cave, it tests all of their combined bravery.  The solution is to hold hands and  work together as they venture in.

What is inside that dark, spooky cave?  Well, it's one last surprise to close out the little boy's adventure.  But suffice to say everything turns out okay in the end.  When that little boy finally climbs back into bed, he has a whole host of new friends to snuggle with.

There are several pieces of this title that I think work together to make this a successful picture book.  Some of these are textual, and some are contained within the illustrations.  It doesn't have complex text with lots of words on each page, but those words are full of imagination and adventure.  Readers are drawn into the story immediately through the little boy's bedtime routine.  I have yet to meet a child who doesn't sleep with at least one stuffed animal.  They can all relate to the process of getting into bed, tucked in and slightly sleepy, and missing that one special animal who has disappeared.  When the story changes from a bedtime story into an adventure, children are ready to commit to searching along with the little boy.  Part of this is due to the earnest first person tone in those introductory sentences.

And another textual success is the repetitive structure of the story.  The sentences are fairly short to keep the plot moving along.  And after each time the boy meets someone (or something) new, and the group sets off together, the text claims "And we weren't afraid at all.  Until..."  It's a great device for building momentum - readers can't wait to see what is around the corner.  They will listen intently for the next cue and be prepared when the page turns.  That piece of repetitive text also ties off the previous incident.

One of the things I love about this story is that it takes teamwork to accomplish the little boy's mission.  When they reach the cave, they aren't individuals - they are a team.  It takes all of their effort to face off against that last creature.  The little boy has been clever in solving every character's problems with compassion and generosity.  But even the bravest little boy might cower before that creature, and it is the support of his new-found friends that helps him get through the confrontation.

I thought the illustrations helped make the story so captivating.  They remind me of illustrations readers would experience in a graphic novel.  There is rich color, with an incredible range of browns in the woods and the little boy's bedroom.  And there are fun details in the pictures too - that scary brown bear who the boy meets first has a gold HONEY necklace.  It looks incredibly out of place on a bear in the woods, but makes that bear seem more hip than scary.  When the little boy gives him the night-light, he strings the lightbulb around his neck instead.  The looks on the faces of every character as they discover each other are priceless.  They are often reacting in shock and fear, but they also look hilarious.  These details add to the fun of reading this book aloud.

Speaking of reading aloud, this story is dramatic and a perfect addition to storytimes or just a family reading time.  It is especially perfect with the multiple surprises on almost every page.  And of course, the combination of bedtime and adventure will help keep it in regular rotation everywhere.  Thank you, Janssen, for the recommendation!

The Woods.  Paul Hoppe.  Chronicle Books, 2011.

borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Courage & Defiance

You know I am a fan of well-crafted, thought-provoking nonfiction of all kinds.  I love when a title leaves me with questions - things to mull over later.  I strongly believe that the best nonfiction leaves you wanting more, that the reader will then take the bibliography or resource list and continue to learn.  When I was offered the chance to review Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs and Survivors in World War II Denmark, I knew that Deborah Hopkinson would have written a book that would make me think.  I had already read and loved many of her previous titles, including most recently Titanic: Voices from the Disaster.   What I didn't know when I accepted this assignment was that I would cry, cheer and sit in awe of the people contained within its pages.

The story Hopkinson tells is about the small island nation of Denmark.  When Germany came marching into Denmark on April 6, 1940, the country of Denmark did nothing.  The.  Not y quickly realized that their military could not resist the much larger German military, and their best hope was to surrender.  Amazingly, while the Danish government thought this was the safest plan of action, its people did not agree.  Hopkinson writes "But it began that first day, when ordinary citizens woke up to a changed world.  It began with anger, disbelief, and determination.  And it began with individuals asking themselves a difficult, almost impossible question: what can one person - or even a few together - do to make a difference against a powerful invading force?" (p. 22-23)

To me, the answer to the question is continually surprising.  Not because one or two people wanted to make a difference, or even hoped they could, but because so many Danish citizens stood up against the Germans.  They fought back in clever ways, risking their lives to do what was right.  For instance, Tommy Sneum, who was a pilot and lived by a German-occupied air force base.  A German soldier accidentally gave Tommy information about an early-warning system that the Germans were using to watch for Allied planes at the base.  Sneum risked his life repeatedly to get this system documented and the information to the Allies.  This included such inconceivable tasks as reconstructing an airplane in a farmer's barn to fly it across the ocean to England to deliver the intelligence.  And since they couldn't risk landing the single-engine plane anywhere the Germans might discover them, Tommy and his co-pilot would have to refuel in midair.

Tommy's story is just one of the incredibly daring stories Hopkinson has documented here.  And what is incredible to me about these stories is that these aren't necessarily the stories of generals in the Danish military or government officials scheming to save their countrymen.  These are the stories of people like you and me.  Many of the stories involve young people who easily see the injustice and fight back.  Niels Skov begins his sabotage by blowing up German cars on the street.  It may have seemed small, but it was something.

Hopkinson follows several people throughout the war, retelling their efforts at collecting information, performing feats of sabotage, and basically doing everything possible to slow the Germans down.  One truly amazing story begins on October 1, 1943, the day the Germans came to round up all of the Danish Jews.  There were 7700 Jews in Denmark, and it would take the bravery of many people to get as many of them as possible to safety.  Reading this story was one of the times tears came to my eyes - the entire country showed courage and defiance in accomplishing this miracle.  They protected their Jewish neighbors and friends and got more than 7200 of them to Sweden safely.  That is a jaw-dropping number.

Even for those of us who are familiar with the history of World War II, there is something new to learn here.  I mentioned earlier that this book left me with additional questions. Hopkinson's book inspired me to learn more.  In her prologue, she advises "Courage & Defiance is an introduction to a multifaceted, complex story, and there are many aspects I have not addressed." (p. 1)  For example, I wanted to learn more about how 7200 Jews were able to move into hiding without attracting attention from German soldiers on very short notice.  I want to know more about the governmental response.  A good piece of nonfiction gets the reader wondering, and then it provides the reader with strong resources to continue their exploration of the subject.

The back matter in this book is, of course, complete and extraordinary.  There are pages o selected resources (including a section of books of special interest to young readers), online resources, source notes, information on the Danish language, and more.  My only minor complaint is that while I read the book, I kept wishing for a map of Denmark to be able to better visualize some of the action.  I did find one, but it was in the back matter, so I didn't find it until I was finished with the book.  That might be a lesson for those of you who are teachers - encourage your students to explore the back matter first, to get a feeling for what information they will be exposed to in the heart of the book.


These stories give hope in the face of one of the greatest evils our world has known.  People all over Denmark stood up and did something, even if it was small.  Hopkinson's retelling is suspenseful and readable.  I couldn't put it down and can't wait to share it with others.  Thanks again to Deborah Hopkinson for appearing.  For other stops on the Courage & Defiance blog tour, please check http://deborahhopkinson.com/

 

 

Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark. Deborah Hopkinson.  Scholastic Press, 2015.

sent by the author for review